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Topic: March 23, 2018 /Player Staff Meeting (Read 282 times)

Nathvaan - Last Saturday at 7:41 PMWelcome to the March 2018 Player/Staff Meeting. If you have a question, type "I have a question" in the #queue channel and you'll be called on when you're up to ask a question. The queue opens up at 7:45PM and will close around 9:30PM or when all questions are answered. (All times are server time)Up first is MarshallDFX, ask away.

MarshallDFX - Last Saturday at 7:48 PMHi staff, thanks for holding the meeting. As a player who has become much more off-peak, does staff have any ideas up their sleeves for making the interaction between on-peak/off-peak sponsored and regular roles easier? RPTs are always a difficult area too, of course.

Nathvaan - Last Saturday at 7:50 PMFirst of all thanks for the question. I should have made it clear. The agenda for tonight is to talk about sponsored roles, with things like what the players want from sponsored roles when Rping with them. What sponsored roles want from staff. Those types of things.This question is right on point though!

Calavera - Last Saturday at 7:51 PMCan I ask for a bit of clarification @MarshallDFX? When you say 'make interaction easier' how exactly do you mean? Like adding additional code features and such or...? Just trying to see if this question is more of a coder wheelhouse question than something I should dive in on. :stuck_out_tongue:

MarshallDFX - Last Saturday at 7:53 PMWell I left it fairly open ended. The generic problem is a peon's playtime not lining up often with their corresponding sponsored role, or vice versa. Code features could be possible. Such as additional message boards? Just spitballing.

Calavera - Last Saturday at 7:55 PMUnfortunately playing in a non-USA time zone or working unusual hours does tend to lend itself to missed connections with leader PCs in game. But I will note that one thing we've been taking into account recently is that we have actually discussed going out of our way to ensure multiple time zones are covered when we're picking new people in important roles like templar.Now that we have more players clustered in one city it's a lot easier to keep an eye on that sort of thing.Also if there's an area in the game that you think could benefit from an ingame message board please let us know. We don't really have plans to add any additional features solely to facilitate offline communication but we can definitely make sure the tools we do have are deployed in areas where they're the most effective.👍5

MarshallDFX - Last Saturday at 7:57 PMOkay, thanks! The main point was whether there was any good ideas I haven't thought of actually in the pipeline, to assist coordination across time zones

Nathvaan - Last Saturday at 7:58 PMNext up is can i not be bullyd pls!Sratch that, next up b0urgeoisie!

moontug - Last Saturday at 7:59 PM@b0urgeoisieb0urgeoisie - Last Saturday at 8:01 PMany plans for adding sponsored roles to either of the available desert elf tribes? they seem like they could use it, and often the sort of "ic recruitment" approach seems to result in a lot of dead players and up/downs in player populations.

Rathustra - Last Saturday at 8:04 PMWe have in the past! Usually when an RPT shines a spotlight on the Tablelands that requires an eager cluster of elves to carry stories forward. However, it's not something we do on the regular, like with Byn Sergeants or GMH members - we only really do it with these roles because they server particular OOC functions in their clans and in the game. With the elven tribes we don't really see them as having a particular requirement or OOC function. But that isn't to say there isn't a precedent for this - we used to have Role Calls for the Akai Sjir.Which is an addled way of saying while it's not something completely unusual, it isn't something we currently have plans to do. We'd have to think what the role is that such sponsored roles would be. The Akai Sjir dealer, for example, was a sort of GMH merchant role - would that be what a Sun Runner sponsored role would look like? Or would they have a Sajahain/Sergeant role? What would that role do?As they are, the tribes are free-form and permit players to dip in and out and play in them as they want.Ok, I'm done rambling.

Nathvaan - Last Saturday at 8:06 PM@Aloyii, Lady of Wieners asked: How much communication is there among the staffers of designated clan and how do they communicate? (one question at a time)The answer here is a lot. There is live communication on our staff channels and everything is logged by clan on a board for the team and clan staff to discuss. It's one of the ways we try and keep things as consistent as possible. We don't always succeed at that but we try very hard!Aloyii, Lady of Wieners - Last Saturday at 8:09 PMnodnodsNathvaan - Last Saturday at 8:10 PM

@Ppurg asked: When is Tuluk going to reopen?👎4🤢1😭1🤔2🙌1⚔3🤸1🤦1👀1🌈1😬1👍2🐲2flag_nak2flag_tuluk11🔪1mantishead7

Rathustra - Last Saturday at 8:12 PMTuluk is incredibly important to me as I had some of my most memorable experiences in Tuluk as both a staffer and a player. For Tuluk to re-open we'd need to be satisfied that our player levels were such that we'd be able to support two viable populations of players - roles, unclanned, the whole shabago - in Tuluk and Allanak.Alongside this I also feel that staff would need to be in a stable and ready state - ready to tackle bringing the city back to life, adapting it to the current state of the game with the most cutting-edge techniques. We have a unique opportunity to polish up an entire city - all at once and not using the usual piece by piece approach we use for updating and adding to the game world.We want to do all our Tuluki players - past and present - proud with the Tuluk that returns to the game. There's a lot of player history there that we are unwilling to forget or waste!❤5💯3ℹ6🇼6🇦6🇳6🇹62⃣6👁6flag_tuluk7

Nathvaan - Last Saturday at 8:14 PM@Deskoft, Lord of Noobs Your up!Deskoft, Lord of Noobs - Last Saturday at 8:15 PMWhen one plays a sponsored role, it is sometimes hard if from an OOC standpoint to know if you are satisfying staff's requirement when they first threw you into the game. Someone could say, don't worry about it, and focus on the IC action -- but the helpfiles themselves state if: "When staff look for a sponsored role, they are looking primarily for stability and structure for the game. Again, there is room for personality and character quirks--those just need to be inside the confines of what staff expects." Now that you are a staffer, what are the best ways you recommend for someone in a sponsored role to know, 'Okay, I am doing a good job from an OOC standpoint?'

Renenutet - Last Saturday at 8:17 PMThat's a great question. I think there are expectations for sponsored roles generally. Playtimes, being a part of it. Willingness to involve others is probably the hugest thing. Time doing the things intrinsic to the role.But if there's more than that. If there is a specific agenda that we want filled that is usually right there in the role call, or communicated really clearly.If no one is asking you to get something specific done, then just enjoy the role. Try to give people stuff to do, or even better make trouble. Get people to go out murder, corrupt and betray.❤1

Calavera - Last Saturday at 8:19 PMAnd if you're feeling uncertain about anything, please just ask.❤2Staff aren't omniscient. If we don't know you're struggling or want direction or want feedback, we don't know to give help in those areas.

Draugr - Last Saturday at 8:20 PMI'd agree with @Renenutet if you're keeping things moving around you in a way that is consistent with the game world? You're probably doing a good job from an OOC standpoint. Also per @Calavera just ask in a report.

Nathvaan - Last Saturday at 8:21 PM@Vermilion Zelda The floor is yours!

Vermilion Zelda - Last Saturday at 8:24 PMOh I saw my question got posted in #queue before @MarshallDFX asked a similar one, but I thought I should post anyway since it's slightly different:Would it ever happen maybe to have more than 2 slots for most of the special roles, maybe three? I was thinking especially if one was left for EU times, it would hugely improve the game, when you look at play times like this https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/meetingtime.html?iso=20180405&p1=195&p2=179 The yellow areas are most peoples' free time and they're hard to match up, and it really comes into factor when there's RP plots, it would make the world feel a lot more alive for a lot of people I think

It's actually come up a few times in discussion in the main chat and a lot of people seemed supportive of the idea :smiley: I don't think 2 is enough for most of the merchant/noble houses when there's time zones to factor in, a lot of the time there will simply be no one around, and some people can play without seeing any of themThe World Clock Meeting Planner - ResultsResults from the Meeting Planner that finds a suitable time to call or meet with people from around the world.

🇫🇷1🇬🇧2🇩🇪1🇪🇸1🇮🇹1🇺🇦1🇧🇬1

Nathvaan - Last Saturday at 8:25 PMThanks for the question. As stated before we canerr.. can't and don't want to ask players, even sponsored ones, to play at certain times. After all this is a game and people have wildly different schedules. What we do is take into account off peak players when choosing sponsored roles depending on the usage.👍1Alright, next up is @Mirudus

Mirudus - Last Saturday at 8:28 PMOne of the parts of playing a sponsored role, especially something like nobility, is that there's often largely little direction given to them. That's quite fine for self-starters and proactive, experienced sponsored-role players, but two problems very frequently arise: 1) players new to sponsored roles (especially nobility/Templarate) don't know exactly how far their reach and power goes, so they wind up either getting bored or trying to do something too 'big' and getting told no, or 2) new and even experienced players get frustrated because they get staff approval for something, but getting it implemented can sometimes move at what feels like a glacial pace. It's often frustrating to ask, for example, "Can I hire X to do Y for me," and by the time you get a response, the plot has moved on beyond it being relevant. Basically, to help minimize this linked frustration - are there any plans to make small changes (room desc changes, item loading, plan approval) 'easier' or quicker to get implemented, or perhaps just on helping these roles recognize the things they can/can't accomplish without outright stating 'do this,' or leaving it to trial and error?

Calavera - Last Saturday at 8:29 PMGreat question!I'll take point on this one since I'm staffing nobles at the moment, though I'm sure other staff will chime in.I would always encourage players to shoot for the moon, however you have to understand that if you shoot for the moon, your thought process shouldn't be: 1. Have idea. 2. Go to moon.If players who play sponsored roles or heck any other kind of role have a plan for a big change or a big plot they absolutely should go for it, but I'd encourage breaking it down into smaller stages so that progress is easier and you don't find yourself frustrated by things beyond your control.⭐1🌕1Send in a request to your staff and say hey, I have a long-term goal of doing this thing. Your staff will tell you straight up if it's something that we would never approve. Sometimes this happens. It sucks. But more often than not your staff will say cool, let me know how you plan to do this.

Draugr - Last Saturday at 8:34 PMYeah. That! And also understand there is a difference between your staffer discussing something with you, senior NPCs responding with yes/no/maybe, and actually being told "This idea is something we can or can not support" - And actually being able to move forward ICly.If that makes sense.

Renenutet - Last Saturday at 8:35 PMJust chiming in to say, if you can accomplish something in game, go and accomplish it. If you want to hire a guy. Hire a guy. Just report it so we know what's what. If you can do it, you don't need permission. Just a willingness to see it through and stand by the outcome. Accept the consequences. I think a lot of times instead of asking can I, you could ask what happens if?👍1

Calavera - Last Saturday at 8:36 PMI'm also going to add a bit of a debbie downer bit to my answer but I hope players can understand it comes from a place of wanting communication to be better and overall hoping to improve the relationship between players and staff.I see a lot of character reports that basically say "here is my PC's idea" and then some time passes and another report a few months later will say "I'm really frustrated no progress has been made on my idea" or "I can't believe X hasn't happened when I told you I wanted to do it" but without much if any updates in the middle on what exactly your character is doing to accomplish this goal.But the thing players have to remember is that we aren't mind readers. If you don't tell us what you are doing toward your goals, we might miss it. Some of us are in weird time zones, some of us aren't online 24/7. If you don't keep us updated on what you're doing, then we won't know to have the world reflect the work you're putting in.

Renenutet - Last Saturday at 8:39 PMAlso at the risk of being negative, make this happen for me, build me a thing, isn't a plot. It's a request.It's not that we won't build you things, or make things happen. It's just not a plot.

Nathvaan - Last Saturday at 8:40 PMGreat question and replies, thanks! @Leudoberct you are up!

Leudoberct - Last Saturday at 8:40 PMAre there any plans to introduce more offpeak leaders and or immortals? One example I thought of would be an offpeak Byn sergeant. Lots of new players join the Byn, and if they can't attend any RPTs due to all of the sergeants being peak, it might make them think that they just can't do any RPTs if they're offpeak. It can be pretty hard for offpeak players to attend an RPT without it being a weekend, and even stil, staying up late into the night.➕11⃣1🇬🇧3🅱1🇾1🇳1

Calavera - Last Saturday at 8:41 PMFun fact, every year I have been on staff we've actually had at least five immortals outside the US, including now!❤2

Nathvaan - Last Saturday at 8:42 PMOff the top of my head I can think of 5? TZs we have staff in currently, maybe 6.

Rathustra - Last Saturday at 8:42 PMI'm the best British staffer.All other British staffers are inferior to me.

Akariel, Lord of Rats - Last Saturday at 8:42 PMXalle is cool too❤2Renenutet - Last Saturday at 8:42 PMWe've got at least four continents covered.

Calavera - Last Saturday at 8:42 PMYeah. We've had staff from all sorts of places and currently have Europe, Australasia, Asia, and all US time zones covered I believe. We've even had staffers in the Caribbean and a couple other time zones people don't think of.As for the rest of the question, for the record most Byn RPTs are organized by players. Most of the time we try not to have Byn Sergeants be sponsored roles and we try to promote within the clan. This is just hard when Fehu and Ayomai keep killing them.😂1mattyEx11mattyEx21mantishead2Cough.

Riev, the Salt King Reborn - Last Saturday at 8:44 PMGoing along with something Iiyola was talking about, how often do staff check in on Clan-Specific GDB posts? Do staff monitor these GDB posts, as they often have questions for procedure or policy, relevant to all the clan members? What about for the Leader versions, like the Byn-leader board, that talks about contracts and who got paid what. Is this double-the-work, or is it fine to leave information there, and off any sort of Leader Reports? What is the expectation concerning the use of these boards, especially for clan leadership in lieu of being able to always communicate in game?

Rahnevyn - Last Saturday at 8:45 PMI would say if you want to be certain we see something, put it in a character report request. We do follow the GDB forums, but requests are always there taunting us until we close them.

Draugr - Last Saturday at 8:46 PMWhat @Rahnevyn said, though if you have a question that other leaders in the clan also need to see, a Question Request pointing out there's a clan-wide question in the clan GDB would be a good workaround

Rahnevyn - Last Saturday at 8:47 PMIt can just be a mention on your request, not a summary of the whole post, obviously.

Logged

There are people already knowledgeable in game. Find them and kill them so no one has cures and then poison everyone. -Kefka 2018

Nathvaan - Last Saturday at 8:48 PMIn the interest of time... up next is @Armaddict

Armaddict - Last Saturday at 8:48 PMIt's a two parter, I don't mind if you can't get to all of it beyond a vague outline since it's touching lightly on some previous questions.

There was a discussion recently regarding the leader of a clan's actions in removing someone from the clan for something that was okay for some people, and not okay for others. It led to a talk about why such actions could be taken, and whether it was in their purview of control to do so. My question is in response to that:

1)How much leeway in clan management do you want to give sponsored roles in how the clan operates vs the function it performs, and where can that leeway be reliably wiggled into by people who take roles hoping to have an impact instead of just being a neat personality in a predetermined role?

2)Do you have examples of how sponsored roles resulted in a player making their mark and being notable, instead of being 'framed in' to clanleader#514? Essentially, advice for players who would like to make their mark in the game how they can?

Calavera - Last Saturday at 8:49 PMI have a lot of answers for #2 but unfortunately the bastards are all still alive.mantishead5

Renenutet - Last Saturday at 8:51 PMWe give a lot of leeway. We don't ever just store people. We tell you what we want and why. We love when people step into a role and make it their own.

Rathustra - Last Saturday at 8:51 PMMy best advice for #2 is to be ICly bad. I've found that when sponsored roles try to hyper-optimize their play, to seek the most efficient route to this or that - they either burn out, or more likely - they suffer from all the other crabs in the pot (Allanak) dragging them down, betraying them and scuppering all their plans. My advice is to make mistakes, be a stepping stone and develop naturally - your victories will be all the sweeter for it.

Renenutet - Last Saturday at 8:51 PMAs for the second part of your question, I staffed Borsail for about three years and I saw some truly awesome people come though.They decided on what they wanted and went about dragging the rest of the players along in their pursuit of it. They were dogged.They also were not afraid to piss people off and make waves. They weren't afraid people might kill them if they weren't nice.

Draugr - Last Saturday at 8:53 PMI would suggest one thing to keep in mind re: point #1 is that a clan leader is generally only leading a portion of that House / Organization. So, you likely will have a LOT of leeway with your section of the organization. But! The greater organization may land some repercussions on you if you cost them more than you're worth.

Renenutet - Last Saturday at 8:53 PMThat's no the same as recklessly walk around in the rinth or going out to burn down another city. But they took chances.If you want to leave a mark, you have to take risks.

Draugr - Last Saturday at 8:54 PMIt's also worth noting, you don't have to be in a sponsored role to make an impact.

Calavera - Last Saturday at 8:54 PMSome specific examples I can think of off the top of my head: the Winrothol Cavaliers were founded by a player and eventually developed into a fully playable unit of soldiers. The entire current Garrison clan in Luir's while set up by staff was framed largely by the leaders involved (down to the names, ranks, uniforms, culture, players had input or straight up designed all that stuff). I have overseen sponsored roles who have created new alcohols, bred new animals, invented PC events that continued long after their characters' deaths, lots of that stuff.But it's the people who played really memorable characters that everyone remembers more than the stuff they did. Dragean Tenneshi did a lot of stuff in the game, but most people remember him for just being Dragean Tenneshi.

Nathvaan - Last Saturday at 8:55 PMGreat advice, Thanks! Next up is: @Kialae

Kialae - Last Saturday at 8:55 PMWhat is the reasoning behind de-escalating player authority in the game? Steadily over time I've seen less and less Agents, now seeming to favor Merchants instead, and Sergeant seems to be the maximum rank a player can reasonably gain in a military clan. What's the purpose of denying the player a certain rank if they've shown the maturity to not wield it over others, and to utilize it for further development of larger schemes? There's little point to giving players a low rank if it's highly unlikely they'll ever do good enough to be promoted beyond it

Renenutet - Last Saturday at 8:56 PMYou can be a lieutenant in the byn.If you're good and don't die.mantishead3

Calavera - Last Saturday at 8:57 PMFor transparency's sake there has been no policy change on the number of agents or whatnot in the game. If you are seeing fewer agents it's possibly because they are playing less or dying quicker and we can't replace them as fast as we'd like.(edited)

Renenutet - Last Saturday at 8:57 PMAgenting is definitely a thing, but harder to step into now from the ground because there are no hunters to manage.

Rathustra - Last Saturday at 9:00 PMAs for powerful 'glass ceiling' roles such as Red Robes and senior nobles - the answer is simply that we cannot properly bring those roles to life for the players in them. The roles have grown beyond what they were back when they were occupied by players that there'd need to be a lot of suspension of disbelief when it came to how they'd interact with the wider playerbase. A Red Robe would hob-nob with the heads of houses and their peers, with their blue robes as minions beneath them that they only had to watch as far as keeping their heads attached is concerned. This makes for a PC role that requires a -lot- of staff attention, preparation and guidance to get right.Ideally we can find ways to provide meaningful promotions within the boundaries we've currently go - perhaps pushing it in places. But there's always going to be a bigger fish, as otherwise you'd be sat in an office while staff animated other, similarly sized fish, to talk to.👍1

Nathvaan - Last Saturday at 9:01 PMThanks for the question. Next up is: @Emperor AmberlynnStill there? If not we'll move on and circle back.Alright, moving on: @Beb

Beb - Last Saturday at 9:04 PMIf you're in a sponsored role and you were told that your concept was backed, but then the follow through on that is full of denials and or changes, how do you propose dealing with that? (on behalf of ShaLeah)

Renenutet - Last Saturday at 9:04 PMThat sounds like a communication problem. And an unfortunate one.

ShaLeah - Last Saturday at 9:05 PMI was away sorry thanks @Beb😉1

Renenutet - Last Saturday at 9:05 PMSometime expectations change after staff rotations. But usually what's happened is that the player and staff have a different understand of what was asked and answered.I have no idea what the specific situation was, but in general I tend as a player to ask everything three times. Put everything in bullet points. And have a section (in red) of action items I need from my staffer.❤2As a staffer when I look at your report I answer general questions generally and specific questions specifically.And it's likely that I get stuff wrong. And there are times I've disappointed peopleBut I don't set out to get stuff wrong or to disappoint.I'm not sure if that addresses the question. I hope it did.

ShaLeah - Last Saturday at 9:09 PMTy

Calavera - Last Saturday at 9:09 PMYeah, it's tough to answer questions about specific scenarios in a group setting like this because we want to give general advice to the maximum number of players possible. The thing I can encourage beyond all else though is just try to be clear about stuff and also that it's okay to repeat things. We're human. Sometimes we miss stuff.👌1

Nathvaan - Last Saturday at 9:09 PMNext up is.... @Aloyii, Lady of Wieners

Aloyii, Lady of Wieners - Last Saturday at 9:10 PMHow important is it to read the clan forum? I've often seen questions asked there by players which are/were never answered by staff

Draugr - Last Saturday at 9:11 PMIf there's a question that specifically needs an answer from Staff, you'll want to use the Request tool to make sure we don't miss it.Even if it's just to link the thread on the GDB

Aloyii, Lady of Wieners - Last Saturday at 9:11 PMBut sometimes you'd like for other players to chip in too👍1

Calavera - Last Saturday at 9:12 PMI personally am really bad at checking the GDB because I have limited time to staff and I prefer to focus on the game itself rather than the boards. I try to be better, but there are a lot of threads especially if you have multiple clan assignments and it can be extremely easy to miss things on there.

Renenutet - Last Saturday at 9:12 PMI hate when people don't read the clan boards. Especially in clans where coordination is key. Like the gladiators, soldiers and Byn. But in all clans.🔥2😃1

Draugr - Last Saturday at 9:12 PMOpening the question request in the Request Tool will grab our attention and make sure we didn't do something like hit mark all read by accident.

Calavera - Last Saturday at 9:13 PMYeah, the dreaded 'mark all as read' fucks up my life at least once a week.

Aloyii, Lady of Wieners - Last Saturday at 9:13 PMhehe

Calavera - Last Saturday at 9:13 PMBut yeah, if you want an answer again, just ask. Nobody's going to think you're a whiner for asking us to step in and answer something. If you feel like you are just yelling questions into the void I would suggest trying a slightly different form of void.❤1

Nathvaan - Last Saturday at 9:14 PMAlright! Onto the next which is: @ErythilLooks like we will circle back... next up: @RabidMuffins

Erythil - Last Saturday at 9:16 PMSorry, backBut I'll wait

Nathvaan - Last Saturday at 9:16 PMYup, you'll be back up next.

RabidMuffins - Last Saturday at 9:17 PMI was wondering if staff have a proposal for what can be done when members of a clan refuse to join the gdb, but you need to communicate with them and/or find info that's usually on rolecalls. Also, could there maybe be something implemented that would allow clan leaders to see how long it has been since someone has logged on?Also, what do you think of removing pcs that haven't been on in a looooooong time?

Nathvaan - Last Saturday at 9:20 PMI can speak to the last part from a coding perspective. Yes, that could be done. It's a good idea to look into but we also need to make sure that it is a direction that would help playability while not discouraging folks who can't play as often. We will discuss it though.

Rahnevyn - Last Saturday at 9:21 PMSo for the second part of your question, for clans like the Atrium where there is a tight limit on how many PCs can join, I think we definitely can let leaders know if they should expect to continue seeing somebody or not. I do that via request today. If a PC has stored or died I don't want them holding a "spot" that could go to someone alive, but obviously it isn't an instantaneous thing.

Calavera - Last Saturday at 9:21 PMYeah, we try very hard not to create a situation where players ever feel punished for having to take a break from the game.❤1This includes kicking them out of clans.

Renenutet - Last Saturday at 9:22 PMOften we will reach out to people who are not logging in and are in leadership positions.👍1

Emperor Amberlynn - Last Saturday at 9:22 PM

Sorry had to take care of my son when my question came upRenenutet - Last Saturday at 9:22 PMMany times we will ask them to step down if they don't want to play their pc. Often they'll decide to step down.

Calavera - Last Saturday at 9:23 PMObviously if someone is playing a role like noble and they suddenly vanish that's no good for anybody, but we generally try to be forgiving with people who aren't on in a long time unless they were in a role that had leadership expectations. If you're just a Private or a Crafter or a Trooper we don't want you feeling obligated to play your PC when life pulls you in a different direction.

Renenutet - Last Saturday at 9:23 PMBut when someone has something going on that makes it impossible to log in , when it's not a choice not to play then definitely we support them. Life happens.❤3

Calavera - Last Saturday at 9:24 PMThis is another situation where it's good to just ask! I tell my clan leaders all the time whether or not they'd have seen X person around the compound.Of course "not around the compound" doesn't mean they aren't playing or dead.

Nathvaan - Last Saturday at 9:24 PMThanks! Next up is @ErythilRabidMuffins - Last Saturday at 9:24 PMBut what about when someone comes back and you have no freaking clue who they are?😄3🔪1Renenutet - Last Saturday at 9:25 PMAsk them, who the hell are you.

Erythil - Last Saturday at 9:25 PM1. Have you considered adding an IC messenger/mail system to facilitate IC communication across time zones or to reach players who rarely log in? 2. Are there any plans to add any additional magic guilds into the game, especially for elements not currently represented?

Rahnevyn - Last Saturday at 9:25 PMGate duty, transferred from another unit, etc.

RabidMuffins - Last Saturday at 9:26 PMWhat I meant is that you can't ask about someone if you don't know they're in the clan to begin with

Calavera - Last Saturday at 9:26 PM1. I have always supported the creation of such a system but I also understand why a lot of staff and players are wary of such a system. We have considered it more than once, yeah.2. Probably a question above my paygrade.

Nathvaan - Last Saturday at 9:27 PM1) Yes, this has been considered as recently as 6 months ago or so. It's not slated at the moment for development but it's a project that lingers.2) There has been continued work, mostly by Nessalin, in the background regarding magick. Things are progressing but there have been NUMEROUS projects that needed to be completed to allow for the versatility we want with regards to guilds and subguilds including magick ones.✨3So no real good answer there other than, stay tuned?

Next is... @MarshallDFX

MarshallDFX - Last Saturday at 9:29 PMNot sponsored role related.. but..What's the latest on the new classes? What's the general timeline looking like? Very related: How much transparency on the skill trees will there be? (I'm in favor of transparency)

Nathvaan - Last Saturday at 9:31 PMWell, the specifics of that is a tiny bit out of my wheelhouse as that's been managed by Brokkr. I can say I do read all the feedback on the beta guilds and they are mostly positive. I'll ask Brokkr to update via the GDB on that part.

Calavera - Last Saturday at 9:32 PMWe've gotten a lot of great player feedback from our beta testers.

Nathvaan - Last Saturday at 9:32 PMAs to transparency, we are in favor as well. The beta guilds have listed in their description most if not all (I'd have to check) of their skills.So I suspect we will continue to lean toward more transparency but not numeric specifics or anything like that.Alright, @ShaLeah sock it to us!

ShaLeah - Last Saturday at 9:33 PMAre there any considerations to add sponsored roles you cover off peak needs specifically?❤1

Draugr - Last Saturday at 9:35 PMI believe this was covered up above, while you were ignoring the rest of us :wink: but I'll leave it to the EU staffers to respond.

Calavera - Last Saturday at 9:36 PMFor the record we never really take "can this person play during peak time" into consideration when choosing people for sponsored roles unless it's a situation like "all 3 Byn Sergeants just died and we really need one stat."

ShaLeah - Last Saturday at 9:36 PMcan we?

Calavera - Last Saturday at 9:36 PMI get the sense from some of these repeated questions that players feel like we as staff are prioritising people who play peak for leadership roles but I'd like to assure you that we don't.

ShaLeah - Last Saturday at 9:37 PMI guess my question is -can we do that.

Nathvaan - Last Saturday at 9:37 PMWe can discuss it. Certainly. It seems to be a major concern from the question.Vennant, a dark-skinned barkeep - Last Saturday at 9:38 PMOh are we done with questions (Sorry, just saw the queue is shut down)

Nathvaan - Last Saturday at 9:38 PMWrapping up questions then we will ask some questions of everyone!

Calavera - Last Saturday at 9:38 PMI'm all for increasing the number of sponsored roles in the game so long as we have the playerbase to sustain it. The only thing we want to make sure we don't have happen is apping in so many leaders that there aren't enough non-leaders to go around.👍1⭐1❤1There were times in Tuluk back in the day when you'd go into the Sanctuary and see 4 nobles, 2 templars, 2 bards, and a Legionnaire Sergeant and you could sit for hours and never see a commoner PC.mantishead1flag_tuluk2flag_nak4So we try to be mindful of the number of leaders ingame at any given point in proportion to the playerbase overall.

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There are people already knowledgeable in game. Find them and kill them so no one has cures and then poison everyone. -Kefka 2018

Is it within staff's desire to take a more involved approach of mentorship in dealing with nobles, military leaders, and templars? I feel like if anything staff errs on the side of "hands off" rather than more direct involvement.

One of the things I noticed was some staff preferred to be only request tool communication and others want to be IG leadership animations primarily. Is this something staff would consider asking the player up front what their preference was?

I ask this because in the past most of my toxic relations as a sponsored role could have probably been quelled if that conversation had occurred and an open line of communication was held throughout.

Calavera - Last Saturday at 9:41 PMThose are good questions and good things to hammer out when setting up new people, yeah.Different people have different management styles and that's true in Arma just like everywhere else. I personally tend towards a more hands off approach because I hate being micromanaged IRL and I don't like feeling like I'm stifling players in my clans by being a helicopter mom. But you're right, some players may thrive under that treatment.🥂1🚁2

Nathvaan - Last Saturday at 9:44 PMWe'll discuss that and try and integrate a conversation on how the player in a sponsored role likes to be managed. That may help.Last on of this section: @Deskoft, Lord of Noobs

Calavera - Last Saturday at 9:44 PMYeah I think that's a great idea.

Fate Amenable To Change - Last Saturday at 9:44 PMThanks homies.

Deskoft, Lord of Noobs - Last Saturday at 9:44 PM(1) Following a previous questions, OOC boards are used as sometimes rumor boards (example: Rumors around the Compound / Barrack / Estate). Armageddon seems to follow a no-ooc line which may at times be breached by the fact you have to login to a forum to know the latest. I believe it is realistic to be able to gossip with your compound vnpcs clannies and hear that Lord Amos Fale had a great party last week you missed vs going out in public, being asked about it and saying 'what?' I am of the idea this demand for information and IC clan-centric gossip could be satisfied with clan boards ICly. Has staff considered this concept? (2) Regarding something I think Calavera stated, is it best to propose projects with a detailed outline of how you will achieve things or let staff get back to you about how they want you to do it? For example, if I wanted to, say, build a new room (random example), would it be best to ask staff what steps they want me to follow or should I get creative and say 'this is how I'd roleplay it?'

Draugr - Last Saturday at 9:45 PMMany of the clans DO have clan boardsThey are seldom utilized which is unfortunateCalavera - Last Saturday at 9:46 PM

Yeah, if you think your area should have an ingame board please let us know. I love them and am in favor of seeing more of them.

Renenutet - Last Saturday at 9:47 PMWe often say no to new rooms. Think about how many lord and lady borsail there have been in the last year. If each estate and compound grew by three rooms a year that would be really unwieldly.Not just cause we're you know, mean and rotten. Though clearly it's that too. I'm looking at you Nathvaan!

Deskoft, Lord of Noobs - Last Saturday at 9:48 PMMy question was mostly focused about the best preferred method of proposing a project/plot if that makes sense, not necessarily building projects. It could apply to political plots involving vnpcs or other kind of projects.

Calavera - Last Saturday at 9:48 PMRe the outline question, I think you can do it however you best like to communicate your ideas. But I do want to see at least some sort of explanation of what your character is doing to make their dreams a reality. Whether that's "this is what I have already done" or "this is what I plan to do" is up to you. A thing I like to see is how many people you're involving, that's always good to see.👍2Basically I don't want to pigeonhole into anyone thinking they have to communicate in this exact bullet pointed way.

Draugr - Last Saturday at 9:49 PMAn outline is sometimes a good start. So you don't get over invested before you know what is and isn't supportable

Calavera - Last Saturday at 9:49 PMOne method I do really like though is some clan leaders of mine have a thing where they have a "goals" section in each report and then add a little bit every time on what they have done specifically to progress that goal since I last checked in with them. You don't have to be this detailed but BAH GAWD is it helpful.So their report will have a section that's like:Goals:1. Get married out of House Tor and into one of the Houses that's actually good. - My PC tried to seduce Lord Borsial and it went poorly so she's moved on to making eyes at an Oash.2. Learn sorcery. - My PC continues torturing the sorcerer in her basement for info.3. Learn Bendune - My PC continues to torture the tribal in her basement for info.4. Make a trade deal with House Kadius for new uniforms for our servants - met with Kadius and went over some designs, chose colors.👌3⌛1This is especially handy if you do politics stuff or have a lot of long term goals. Again, it's not required. It's just really helpful.(edited)

Nathvaan - Last Saturday at 9:52 PMI have done goal lists exactly like that... some didn't change for a year, but it kept me focused on it every week.

Calavera - Last Saturday at 9:52 PMI REMEMBER YOURS, NATHVAAN. I STAFFED YOU BACK THEN!

Nathvaan - Last Saturday at 9:53 PMRemember that one goal Calaver.... heh. YUP. Good times.Alright, so now is the part where we spend a little time asking you about sponsored roles.

ShaLeah - Last Saturday at 9:53 PMI remember THAT goal @Nathvaan

Nathvaan - Last Saturday at 9:53 PMYeah, I imagine so!

Vox - Last Saturday at 9:53 PMI missed my question?I got it in before it closed.. :frowning:😦2

Nathvaan - Last Saturday at 9:54 PMOh sorry! missed it. Go ahread!

Vox - Last Saturday at 9:54 PMNo worries :smiley:Thanks! This meeting has been great, thank you all for being available and taking the time to address these subjects so openly. My first question regards With as a playable race/sponsored role. Since Tuluk doesnít exist currently, and not counting small Raider groups, the gith represent a sizable enemy threat. Are there plans to open them up to players so that we can give the threat a bit more pulse?Second question: Any chance full mage guilds can be re-introduced into the game? Is this being discussed as part of the new beta guilds?sorry, Githnot WithautocorrectRenenutet - Last Saturday at 9:55 PMWhere were you last year when the gith were taking over the world?☠1mantishead1Vox - Last Saturday at 9:55 PMIn Spain doing a movie :stuck_out_tongue:Renenutet - Last Saturday at 9:55 PMOther than that, I should probably leave this question to the people staffing that part of the world.Well, see? See? This is why we can't have nice things.

Calavera - Last Saturday at 9:56 PMYeah that's a good question for Rathustra but unfortunately I think he's gone to bed because Britters are Quitters.mantishead2👃1

Aruven - Last Saturday at 9:56 PMbrexit

Calavera - Last Saturday at 9:56 PMHe made a hard brexit from the meeting.🕒1We do definitely run sponsored gith from time to time though @Vox, there will be a role call when it happens.

Vox - Last Saturday at 9:57 PMWell, let Rath know I was curious please. Add it to my wish that the lag added to sleight of hand can be removed or added after the skill is used so you can actually do it when shadowing someone who is spam walking :smiley:

Nathvaan - Last Saturday at 9:58 PMAs to reintroducing full mage guilds in some way, that isn't off the table but it is not actively being discussed at this time. As stated before we have been making a lot of changes to how skills and branching work or at least giving us options on how they work to facilitate more variety in guilds and sub-guilds.

Calavera - Last Saturday at 9:58 PMYeah, Nessalin's work on that has been super cool.

Vox - Last Saturday at 9:58 PMAwesome

Nathvaan - Last Saturday at 9:58 PMBasically think of it as building the needed infrastructure to make interesting things more possible. It take a lot of time to get it all in, tested and working before it's ready for prime time.Okay, So I am going to turn this over to the others to ask you all questions. Please keep the answers reasonable and please just give answers to keep the spam down so we can follow.

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There are people already knowledgeable in game. Find them and kill them so no one has cures and then poison everyone. -Kefka 2018

Nathvaan - Last Saturday at 10:00 PMSo, staff, what questions do you have for the players here regarding sponsored roles?

Vox - Last Saturday at 10:00 PMAppreciate the responses. Glad these things are being discussed.

Vennant, a dark-skinned barkeep - Last Saturday at 10:00 PMDo you want to ask specific people to answer, or should we just...

Renenutet - Last Saturday at 10:00 PMI wanted to start things out by asking what you guys want from the sponsored roles you play with?

Krath - Last Saturday at 10:00 PMBad Guy sponsored ROles

Renenutet - Last Saturday at 10:01 PMYeah, just pipe in and answer. But just answer. Let's leave discussion for after.

Lizzie the Irk - Last Saturday at 10:01 PMI want a flyin shap

Cabooze - Last Saturday at 10:01 PMOptions to play as a full elementalist/sorc

Krath - Last Saturday at 10:01 PMTo elaborate, there used to be role calls, for non-clanned bad guy roles. I would like to see that again.

AdamBlue - Last Saturday at 10:01 PMUnique story-based characters that have instant and recognizable circumstances that promote a large impacting story.

Riev, the Salt King Reborn - Last Saturday at 10:01 PMWhat I want, and what I expect, and two different things. I want, from sponsores roles I play WITH is people who are capable of generating playable content. Whether its RPTs, or socialization, or what have you.

MarshallDFX - Last Saturday at 10:02 PMcreating chaos

Lizzie the Irk - Last Saturday at 10:02 PMI'd like for the staff to "not" ask exclusively for mundane sponsored roles, and allow the possibility of non-mundane again. Currently, everyone knows that all the sponsored roles are mundane.👌🏼1

kismetronic - Last Saturday at 10:02 PMCreate things to do outside of the usual treadmill of clan life

Aloyii, Lady of Wieners - Last Saturday at 10:02 PMI'd like to see spontaneous magick appearing in skill lists

mrkae - Last Saturday at 10:02 PMI think there's an ooc culture and expectation around sponsored roles that is unhealthy, like it is exclusively an ooc competition with the other ooc roles to be the most hypercompetent and perfect.💯1

Aloyii, Lady of Wieners - Last Saturday at 10:02 PMbe it through ginka or staff

Innerfear - Last Saturday at 10:03 PMAnyoen can play a bad guy :wink:💯1

Krath - Last Saturday at 10:03 PM+1 to Lizzie comment

Armaddict - Last Saturday at 10:03 PMI would like a lower amount of sponsored roles with more in-game meritocracy. In conjunction, the sponsored roles that are asked for should have a bit more power/resources to pursue/create content that potentially -really- affects other clans so that there are divided interests. They facilitate the conflict naturally, and become the victim of it naturally.

Deskoft, Lord of Noobs - Last Saturday at 10:03 PMEngaging, well-roleplayed and fleshed out characters that are available and create roleplayable scenarios for my character. Even if it's just a delegative situation.

Calavera - Last Saturday at 10:03 PMFor the record @mrkae one thing I love to see is role apps for fuckups or people with personality traits that aren't just "hypercompetent and perfect."

Vennant, a dark-skinned barkeep - Last Saturday at 10:04 PMWhat I want from sponsored roles: I would like for sponsored roles to not feel that they need to log in like it's a job, to not be a vending machine, and to be empowered to be plot shakers and movers foremost. IN TANDEM, I would like for NON SPONSORED leaders to feel JUST as empowered and supported. It can sometimes not feel like that is the case.💯1

BadSkeelz - Last Saturday at 10:04 PMId like staff to introduce a "you kill it you play it" rule for all sponsored roles. Your character wants to become a Templar? Kill a Templar. Down with hereditary sponsored roles may the best stat roll win

Calavera - Last Saturday at 10:04 PMThat's a really good point, Vennant.Most of the leader roles I played before I was on staff were promoted up into leadership, not sponsored in. Sometimes I felt supported, sometimes I felt ignored.

Shalooonsh - Last Saturday at 10:05 PMSponsored characters which are also magickers/psi/defilers/demons/mastercraft_mudsexers are tradititionally almost impossible to deal with properly. There's a good reason that that line exists, but it isn't a line that is never crossed :wink:

Bushranger - Last Saturday at 10:05 PMI would like to see sponsored roles that flesh out the traditional game world. Mul slaves (instead of another rogue Mul) or Farmer Overseers who can pay and organize grebbers around the farming village, Slaughteryard Foreman who can employ and direct hunters to bring in specific animals to be slaughtered.👍1

Aruven - Last Saturday at 10:05 PM^^^^^

mrkae - Last Saturday at 10:05 PMYes I agree and maybe in the gdb role call announcements this could be touched on, that you don't have to play a great ic leader, just a great ooc leader.

Bushranger - Last Saturday at 10:06 PMI was going to ask this as a question but my nephew came over to be baby sitted so I missed it. Can a player put in a request to play one of these mundane sponsored role types. Like Hey can I play a Farmer Overseer with some minor staff support?

Renenutet - Last Saturday at 10:06 PMI'm interested in all the answers, but there are more questions coming.

mrkae - Last Saturday at 10:06 PMBecause I know people personally who have burned out playing too many sponsoreds and feeling they have to "win" all the time

Beb - Last Saturday at 10:06 PMSome Red Storm sponsored roles so I can go around living my dream of selling some mad bread.

Renenutet - Last Saturday at 10:06 PMSo, when we hit a lull I'll shoot the next one in.

Deskoft, Lord of Noobs - Last Saturday at 10:06 PMI think there are many ways of being a good OOC leader though.

BadSkeelz - Last Saturday at 10:07 PMCan we make the silt sea more interesting without it requiring staff animation?Its kind of an underutilized deathtrap at the moment

Calavera - Last Saturday at 10:08 PMOkay I'm gonna ask a kind of specific question as I'm currently putting out feelers on a couple projects of mine.

AdamBlue - Last Saturday at 10:08 PMMore crazy shit.

Beb - Last Saturday at 10:08 PMMore crazy shit.

BadSkeelz - Last Saturday at 10:08 PMNo more halfgiants

Beb - Last Saturday at 10:08 PMShocking events, not necessarily a weird one.

Calavera - Last Saturday at 10:08 PMIs there much interest in the playerbase for "clans" that don't really have a structure/leader? Stuff that's just more like an association of professionals or a union or a 'guild' that could be joined?👍2

Bushranger - Last Saturday at 10:10 PMAbsolutely Calavera! I think that fits with the Farmers/Butchers/Ranchers idea I suggested❤1

b0urgeoisie - Last Saturday at 10:10 PMi'm still curious why desert elves don't have any sort of sponsored roles available. rathustra made it sound like they just hanging around when there isn't like a gith thing going on. i feel like they would benefit from a sponsored sajahain or zarajiri type role

Calavera - Last Saturday at 10:10 PMNah I was thinking more like a group of miners or potters that people could join that would have a communal workspace and areas to RP in but wasn't actually a clan where people gave you orders.⭐4👌2

b0urgeoisie - Last Saturday at 10:10 PMthat moved them beyond the tablelands into the realm of interacting with a larger section of the pbase

Vennant, a dark-skinned barkeep - Last Saturday at 10:11 PM@Calavera Anything that is added to the game that drives/creates/fuels Murder, Corruption, and Betrayal, I support 100%.If it is just going to be Crafter Haven 2.5I dunno.

Bushranger - Last Saturday at 10:11 PMRight, that is good too @Calavera This is the Miners guild hall, you pay some fees and you get a place to sleep with other miners and a workshop to repair tools and swap good mining spots :smiley:

Vox - Last Saturday at 10:11 PMI'd like to see tribeless/outcast, scavenger desert elves permitted beyond the two d-elf tribes.👌2

Lizzie the Irk - Last Saturday at 10:11 PMRough Circle Area #42

Aruven - Last Saturday at 10:12 PM@Calavera

I like all new ideas, my fear here is that i'll see more traditional clans close as player recruitment drops as they see other options.

ShaLeah - Last Saturday at 10:12 PMWhat I want from the sponsored roles I play with:I want all players to have access to all active IG game changing factions (Templars and Byn, maybe GMH) across all time zonesI want sponsored roles to hold RPTs keeping all times zones in mind.I want staff to support sponsored roles with more open communication and less denialI want less restriction in creationI want more access to documentation, history, lore and SECRETSI want better consistencyI want better more active recruiting of clans that recruit only ICly - I want a sponsored role with those(edited)

MarshallDFX - Last Saturday at 10:12 PMI'm imagining the artful dodger here though

nauta - Last Saturday at 10:12 PM@Calavera What would clan membership grant a group of grebbers?(gdb access, safe space, etc.)

BadSkeelz - Last Saturday at 10:13 PMThe best dusty mudsex venue in town!

AdamBlue - Last Saturday at 10:13 PMhalflings again when

Emperor Amberlynn - Last Saturday at 10:13 PMIs this still going?

moontug - Last Saturday at 10:13 PMi like it, a cool two person clan could be tablestaff at the Gaj, or a couple of people who manage the dead pile/clean up after gladiator events. just flavor roles with a tiny bit of code support

Calavera - Last Saturday at 10:13 PMThat's the thing, it wouldn't really be "clan membership." I'm trying to think outside the paradigm of current existing clan structures in the game because I feel like Arm's history has mostly focused on one type of group structured one way--a rigid clan structure with clearly delineated power levels and hierarchies and limits.

Lizzie the Irk - Last Saturday at 10:14 PMCalavera's question reminds me somewhat of a thing that happens in the Elemental Quarter from time to time.

AdamBlue - Last Saturday at 10:14 PMrainclouds in the distance approach allanak

BadSkeelz - Last Saturday at 10:14 PMSounds to me its more like "more interesting crafting spaces open to independents" @Calavera

Calavera - Last Saturday at 10:14 PMI'm asking in a broader sense of whether players would like to see more groups that are just "groups of people RPing similar stuff" or "groups of people associated in x way" rather than a group people join with a boss that takes orders.👍2Nah it wouldn't have to be crafting related, those were just examples I pulled outta my ass.

Emperor Amberlynn - Last Saturday at 10:14 PMDid you staff ever think about putting in a jihaen our of iskander in the north and let the clan recruit and patrol the north and politic out of there and let people who love Tuluki get some culture out of that?

moontug - Last Saturday at 10:14 PMI'd love that Calavera

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There are people already knowledgeable in game. Find them and kill them so no one has cures and then poison everyone. -Kefka 2018

Renenutet - Last Saturday at 10:15 PMIf you've played a leader, what have your biggest failings been? What would you tell yourself or others to help avoid those pratfalls? What are some things we as staff could tell people to help them not to make those mistakes?

nauta - Last Saturday at 10:15 PMFor me, outside a clan, I'd like (a) a tool to communicate with people in my fly-by-night group - for RPTs and (b) some sort of homebase, be it another person's apartment, the star dune, or whatever.

Aruven - Last Saturday at 10:15 PM@Calavera I thought this is why we brought in player created clans initially ;

Of course! if I could get the benefits to some extent that a clan has without the 'oath' or commitment? Why not?

BadSkeelz - Last Saturday at 10:15 PMI think those would fill a great niche for New or low intensity characters. But if you want to get involved in real shit you'd have to join a real clan

nauta - Last Saturday at 10:15 PM(b) is usually something I can achieve IG right now. But (a) is a hard nut to crack.

Bushranger - Last Saturday at 10:15 PMLike miner A and miner B are rivals, they don't like each other. They are members of the Allanak Miners guild though so they both hate miner C who hasn't joined! I like it.

Lizzie the Irk - Last Saturday at 10:15 PMMy biggest failings: having to log out when the fun stuff starts, and having to hire minions.

Emperor Amberlynn - Last Saturday at 10:16 PMMy biggest fail was not communicating as a lease and thinking staff was out to ruin all my plots when O was a new player. My other fail was that I let one comment from a staffer stop me from logging in and ended up storing my favorite character ever.

ShaLeah - Last Saturday at 10:16 PMEveryone should get in the voice chat.

Deskoft, Lord of Noobs - Last Saturday at 10:16 PM@Renenutet I think sometimes when a new leader joins the game, especially if they're engaging in their first leadership positions, or simply accommodating into the role, some staff guidance is super useful, maybe even advice.

BadSkeelz - Last Saturday at 10:17 PMSome of us are outside and drinking @ShaLeah❤1

Fate Amenable To Change - Last Saturday at 10:17 PMWe don't want to listen to you rant inexhaustably @ShaLeah😖1😏1

Riev, the Salt King Reborn - Last Saturday at 10:17 PMI think my biggest failures have been RELYING on staff to come up with plotlines, or building, or whatever, and not realizing that we as players can "give staff an idea" of a plot.

Nathvaan - Last Saturday at 10:18 PMPlease be respectful.

Calavera - Last Saturday at 10:18 PMThat's a good one, Riev. I am full of ideas but I'd much rather support ideas my players come up with because that way I know they are pursuing stuff they personally find interesting.

Vennant, a dark-skinned barkeep - Last Saturday at 10:18 PM@Renenutet I would say my biggest failing would be not delegating enough to Staff to help out with, and feeling that I needed to pull the line 100% of the time. Not appraising Staff of how to fit in between, co-opting events or working on RPT ideas together. Sometimes working with Staff through the request tool, you feel you are REPORTING to a superior, rather than CONVERSING with a peer.

Chedderman - Last Saturday at 10:18 PMYou mean like communal areas?

kismetronic - Last Saturday at 10:18 PM@Renenutet Having unpredictable availability that led to the feeling that I wasnít doing enough and also not being consistent enough in my reporting as a result. Now that Iíve gotten to a point where my schedule wonít allow it, I rarely, if ever, apply for leadership roles and only as the summer approaches and my schedule would allow it.

Calavera - Last Saturday at 10:18 PMIf I come up with an idea and drop it in someone's lap it may not be the type of idea that they enjoy pursuing.

Beb - Last Saturday at 10:18 PMIt is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.

Renenutet - Last Saturday at 10:19 PMI'm feeling like I have to stop myself from answering all of these. Poor impulse control.

kismetronic - Last Saturday at 10:19 PM@Renenutet I think I would tell other players to be mor communicative and worry less about feeling inadequate.

Aruven - Last Saturday at 10:19 PMLeader failure: Trying to make everyone happySolution/recc: Stick to the outline you start and simply keep staff informed along the way. Can't go wrong.

Emperor Amberlynn - Last Saturday at 10:19 PM@Calavera I think more recently I had a problem of being too active where I literally had so much going on I had to keep adding to my report.

Renenutet - Last Saturday at 10:20 PMMy favorite staffers were always the people who made me feel like we were collaborating. That's the kind of staffer I hope I am.🙌3

Calavera - Last Saturday at 10:20 PMThat's a GOOD thing @Emperor Amberlynn

Renenutet - Last Saturday at 10:20 PMSo, I don't want you guys to feel like you can't step up and collaborate with us.

Lizzie the Irk - Last Saturday at 10:21 PMHeh my character reports are usually threaded over the course of several days.

Emperor Amberlynn - Last Saturday at 10:21 PMTrue I think I made it enjoyable for everyone else.

Fate Amenable To Change - Last Saturday at 10:21 PMLeader failure: Going too hard too fast instead of cruising for the first month. There's good things and bad things about it, but usually my leaders ended up with every single PC in the city as a mortal enemy. I'd say most players want a more reserved approach.

Renenutet - Last Saturday at 10:21 PMSometimes we have to say, sorry, we can't do that. But I don't think we ever say, we don't think you have agency in your roles or that we don't want your input.

Emperor Amberlynn - Last Saturday at 10:24 PMIf it's a party or arena game hell yes skip that shit, piss off someone? WHO cares it creates plots

ShaLeah - Last Saturday at 10:24 PMheh

Calavera - Last Saturday at 10:24 PMI'd say it depends on what that thing is @ShaLeah. If that thing is part of the explicit expected requirements of the role then it might be a hard sale. "I'm a Fale noble but I don't want to throw any parties or hire aides because my character wouldn't do that" probably wouldn't fly.

MarshallDFX - Last Saturday at 10:24 PMSeems like there's specific things being asked about ultimately

Calavera - Last Saturday at 10:24 PMSure not all Fales are party animals, but part of the expectations of playing a noble is doing stuff that involves other people in some way.

AdamBlue - Last Saturday at 10:25 PMRandom events on each character that can be toggled on at character creation'You wake up blind.'

kismetronic - Last Saturday at 10:25 PMWhat is a reasonable amount of time youíre expected to play a leadership role? Because I used to hear itís 20 hours, but then youíve got people who play like 80 hours a week, and what is the realistic response to that level of activity?

AdamBlue - Last Saturday at 10:25 PM'You wake up with a large bag of obsidian coin in your pocket, and don't know where it came from.'

MarshallDFX - Last Saturday at 10:25 PMI've been up most of the the night. Just want to say thanks to staff for holding this meeting. Night night

Lizzie the Irk - Last Saturday at 10:25 PMI'd like to see another senate meeting and some more scrambling to get the results that the noble houses want to get.

Emperor Amberlynn - Last Saturday at 10:25 PM@Calavera what if I hire an aide for two years find a way to get hem shunned cause they bored me but had the atrium hiring the replacement?

Lizzie the Irk - Last Saturday at 10:25 PMlooong overdue, imo.

Aloyii, Lady of Wieners - Last Saturday at 10:25 PMwaking up blind would be such an anticlimatic start

Vennant, a dark-skinned barkeep - Last Saturday at 10:26 PMI'd like to see all the Strata of society affect each other through MCB.

Calavera - Last Saturday at 10:26 PM@kismetronic I think comparing your playtime to the playtimes of others is a very quick way to get burnt out. You just gotta do the most you can with what you have.

Vennant, a dark-skinned barkeep - Last Saturday at 10:26 PMinstead of having more closed door meetings where 'something' happened

Calavera - Last Saturday at 10:26 PMIf a player can only play 2-3 hours a night a couple times a week I would probably tell them not to apply for a sponsored role.

Lizzie the Irk - Last Saturday at 10:26 PMnite all🖖🏼2

Calavera - Last Saturday at 10:26 PMBut I've also seen people make it work really well with not much time so I'd hesitate to put a ceiling on the "minimum allowed playtime."

BadSkeelz - Last Saturday at 10:27 PMWhat's the minimum hours per week you would ask of your sponsored roles

Renenutet - Last Saturday at 10:27 PMAll good answers. But we're drifting afield. Have we gone too late? It's been three hours. Shall we go to a more informal format now? Should we adjorn to general chat?

Vennant, a dark-skinned barkeep - Last Saturday at 10:27 PMI've seen Leaders delegate so well, that they only need to show up 1-2 times a week, and they have that much more OOMPH to their presence.Do you have more questions, Staff?Some of us are relatively sober.

Aruven - Last Saturday at 10:28 PM*realtive

Calavera - Last Saturday at 10:28 PMYeah because of what Vennant said some people delegate so well that I'm pretty flexible with hours played.

Renenutet - Last Saturday at 10:28 PMSkeelz, if you can log in and give everyone who reports to you enough INTERESTING things to occupy them until you log in next, make a mark on the game world and fulfill the role, then how much time you spend doing it is up to you.

Smashed - Last Saturday at 10:28 PMHey question. For an offpeak player. Should offpeak players choose to avoid joining clans, in fear of taking up a slot of a clan capped membership by being very inactive themselves

BadSkeelz - Last Saturday at 10:28 PMWhat counts as a mark

Renenutet - Last Saturday at 10:29 PMThe problem is when no one can find someone. There's no proxy. The minions are bored.A mark is when you play Lord Tor and everyone feels like there's a Lord Tor. Not when everyone wonders when they'll put out a role call for Lord Tor.

Vennant, a dark-skinned barkeep - Last Saturday at 10:30 PMQuestion: At a certain time, it felt like Staff regularly animated 'Lower Down' NPCs, like other Junior Agents/Nobles. This also made it feel like the clan wasn't totally dead/unavailable when the Sponsored PC wasn't logged in.Do Staff still do this?

Renenutet - Last Saturday at 10:31 PMSmashed if you can find the people in the clan you want to join on in your play times, yes.

Calavera - Last Saturday at 10:31 PMYeah, totally. I did a bunch of it just a couple days ago. I vastly prefer animating NPCs like that to bosses.

Renenutet - Last Saturday at 10:31 PMIf it takes you 8 real life days to get hired, you know it's going to be a problem.

Rahnevyn - Last Saturday at 10:31 PMYes! Personally, not as much as I wish I could totallyBut those are my favorite kind of animations

Calavera - Last Saturday at 10:31 PMWhen you're the boss people just sit there and nod. When you're an underling people interact with you more realistically. :stuck_out_tongue:

BadSkeelz - Last Saturday at 10:32 PMWhat about mid-level bosses

Vennant, a dark-skinned barkeep - Last Saturday at 10:32 PMThat's what i've found -- When you take the Byn as an example, very rarely do I see Sergeant NPCs interacting with PCs, it's almost always LTs.

Calavera - Last Saturday at 10:32 PMI actually have a couple NPCs I animate around Allanak just on the streets and bars periodically.The thing is, you don't know they're NPCs.

Rahnevyn - Last Saturday at 10:32 PMMy favorite npc animations over 10 years have been: a junior noble who was lower than all the peers I was animating for, a slave, and a newbie aide.

BadSkeelz - Last Saturday at 10:32 PMAs an AoD sarge I learned a lot by having animated lieutenant occasionally yell at me

Ooze - Last Saturday at 10:33 PMMy favorite animation was when I got ran over by a wagon when crossing Caravan

Calavera - Last Saturday at 10:33 PMI can't really comment on specific clans and specific situations especially if the clans in question aren't ones I work on.

Smashed - Last Saturday at 10:33 PMThe game actually has only 23 players. Everyone else you meet are animated NPCs

Nathvaan - Last Saturday at 10:34 PMAlright, folks I think we are going to wrap this up and move back to general! We didn't get to the questions on the GDB but we will answer those over there. Also might be something going on currently in the arena!🇲1🇺1🇩1🇸1🇪1🇽1Smashed - Last Saturday at 10:34 PMHow do you find the MMH groups? I'm curious to hear from players and staff both. Do they significantly improve your gameplay? Are they organic in the Vnpc power structure?Nathvaan - Last Saturday at 10:36 PMThanks again for participating. Hopefully we have another one soon!🇪2🇱2🇫2🇧2🇺2🇲2🇸2mantishead2

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There are people already knowledgeable in game. Find them and kill them so no one has cures and then poison everyone. -Kefka 2018